


Scuttlebutt

by Demerite



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Comedy, Crack Treated Seriously, Gossip, M/M, Translation Available
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 22:57:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18061793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demerite/pseuds/Demerite
Summary: "So apparently Stevens overheard Wilson telling Li that Tilly told Detmer that she and Burnham walked in on Tyler and the Captain kissing in the Ready Room."





	Scuttlebutt

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Сарафанное радио](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18111233) by [Evangeline_Lifer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evangeline_Lifer/pseuds/Evangeline_Lifer)



> This is all [Aisha's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aishahiwatari/pseuds/aishahiwatari/) fault; because she encourages my bullshit. 
> 
> I neither know nor care where in the timeline of season two this fits. Also, this was written in like an hour while drunk, so take the forthcoming nonsense with a grain of salt. And possibly some lime and tequila too. It might help.

In Michael’s opinion, it all started because Ash was an idiot. Tilly, sitting beside her and glaring into her coffee, had insisted that Pike was equally to blame, in the bitter tones of one who had just seen the object of their affections pushing someone else up against the wall and kissing them with enough force that it simply _had_ to be painful. Which, coincidentally, was exactly what the two of them had just witnessed. 

 

*

 

They’d reached a breakthrough in their work in the lab - sifting through diagnostic data in an attempt to find the cause of the ship-wide malfunctions they were suffering - and Michael had tried to comm the Captain to report their findings, only to go unanswered, the comms system still down. Well, the lab they were working in wasn’t far from the Ready Room, and the information wasn’t so time sensitive that they couldn’t report it in person. And truth be told, they both needed the break. 

 

Tilly was exuberant as they walked through the corridors, bubbling with excitement at the prospect of telling the Captain their findings. Michael found Tilly’s rather obvious crush on their captain confusing; she and Tilly both knew Pike would never do anything with an officer under his command, regardless of whether he reciprocated those feelings, or if he had even noticed. Michael was sure he had, but Tilly kept insisting that he wasn’t aware of them, and that was why he hadn’t responded to her flirting. 

 

They ended up sharing the turbolift with Commander Reno, who gave Tilly a slow, sideways look, then raised an eyebrow in Michael’s direction. 

 

“Going to see the Captain?” She asked. 

 

“Yes!” Tilly gave Jett her brightest grin, “How did you guess?” 

 

Michael bit the inside of her cheek to contain the laugh that threatened to spill out of her. 

 

“Just lucky.” Jett shrugged, her face suggesting she was also having difficulties keeping herself in check. 

 

The walk from the turbolift to the Captain’s Ready Room was a short one, and Michael watched Tilly use the time to bring her breathing under control and school her features into something that was _almost_ perfectly bland and professional. Michael could still see the cracks in her friend’s facade, but she reminded herself that she had a far higher standard for what was considered ‘expressionless’ than most people. By normal human standards, Tilly was probably fine. 

 

“Ready?” Tilly asked, the slightly higher pitch to her voice the only sign of her nervousness. 

 

“Relax Tilly,” Michael said, giving her friend a calming half-smile, “We’re just reporting our findings to the Captain.” 

 

“Right. Sure.” Tilly nodded, taking another deep breath, “Just reporting our findings, that’s all, nothing to -“ 

 

“ _Tilly.”_

 

“Right, okay.” Tilly reached out and pressed the door chime, only for the door to the ready-room to slide open. She drew her hand back from the panel like it had burned her, “Michael!” She squeaked, “I…I didn't mean to, you saw, I just pressed the chime, I-”

 

Her nervous, apologetic babbling was cut off by Micheal, who gabbed her by the arm and dragged her back from the door. Only then did Tilly look up into the ready room to see what her friend had seen, and she abruptly clapped a hand over her mouth to avoid letting out the sound she would otherwise have made; a strangled half-shriek of surprise at the sight that was in front of them.

 

Oblivious to their presence, Captain Pike had Ash Tyler crowded against the far wall, one hand caught in his thick hair, and was kissing him with an intensity that bordered on actually violent. Tyler wasn’t trying to resist either. Actually, from the way his hips were moving, Tilly was pretty sure it was quite the opposite. 

 

“Oh my god…” she silently mouthed, conscious of the fact that she was staring and yet was unable to tear her eyes away. 

 

“What the heck?!” She demanded fiercely when Michael slammed her hand down on the door panel and the door slid shut. 

 

“Come _on._ ” Her friend hissed, dragging her away from the doorway. Tilly followed a little numbly, still trying to process all that she’d just witnessed. 

 

*

 

“At least they didn’t see us, right?” Tilly said, some minutes later, sounding like she was attempting to be hopeful about the whole situation. 

 

“I don’t think they did.” Micheal agreed, sipping her tea cautiously. She _knew_ they hadn’t noticed, too consumed with each other. She didn’t know the context, but she was already deeply suspicious of Ash. Was he under orders from Section 31? Michael wouldn’t put it past Georgiou to dream up something as far-fetched as having Tyler seduce the Captain. 

 

“Are you listening to me?” Tilly asked, and when Michael glanced up at her friend it was to see her looking morose. 

 

“Sorry.” She admitted, “What?” 

 

“I _said_ I didn’t know he was even interested in men, let alone Tyler.” Tilly sighed, “Now I _definitely_ don’t have a chance with him.” 

 

“He’s the C _aptain_.” Michael couldn’t help but point out, hoping that was all she needed to say. Tilly was her friend; she wasn’t so unfeeling as to simply crush her hopes just like that. 

 

“I know, but a girl can dream.” Tilly downed the last of her coffee, “We should get back to work.” 

 

*

 

"So apparently Stevens overheard Wilson telling Li that Tilly told Detmer that she and Burnham walked in on Tyler and the Captain kissing in the Ready Room.”

 

“Hello to you too.” Jett said, looking up from the console she was painstakingly piecing back together. 

 

Stamets just glared at her, hands on hips. “Is it true?” He asked, and Jett sighed. 

 

“Obviously.” She said, sitting back on her heels and wiping her hands on her uniform trousers, “You could cut the sexual tension between those two with a knife.” 

 

“Great!” Stamets threw up his hands in frustration, “Everyone’s getting more action than me.” And with that, he stalked out of the engineering bay, leaving Jett to roll her eyes at the antics of her crewmates, and return to work. She had to admit, she was impressed with the speed at which gossip moved around the ship. She wondered how long until it made its way back to either Tyler or Captain Pike. She’d pay good money to see _that_ conversation. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [Tumblr](https://demerite.tumblr.com/).


End file.
